Stories of Night Anglers
Sin that night was actually not so cold, but the wind was blowing hard. Unlike the Padangpanjang City which will remain cold with strong winds or not. The cold immediately felt in the bones and made the ears become very cold.
"The foundation of the building in the Ombilin area which is also a favorite location for worms"
That night, around November 2018, departing from Padangpanjang, I parked a vehicle in one of the shops on the lake, at Lake Singkarak, in the Ombilin area of Simawang. I sat in the back of the shop. There, the place is very open, occasional gusts of wind can slap, but we can hide behind poles and fences. The weather was rather cloudy, lightning was also seen in the middle of the lake. Maybe it's going to rain soon. But, in this quite open space I could see the dim lights of the village across the lake, Sumpu, Malalo, even Paninggahan, and Saningbaka. If the night is not cloudy, maybe the lights will look beautiful together and become part of the sprinkling of stars.
"The view during the day from the foundation of the building in the area of Ombilin, one of the places that became the favorite location of anglers"
That night the lake also sounded choppy, along with it smelled a strange aroma, a scent that did not bring freshness. That strange aroma, in other terms, is referred to by people as the smell of the lake. Together with that also sounds faint call to prayer is from nowhere.
In front of me, at the other table, four young men were seen just finishing a bowl of noodles. They closed the pleasure with the blowing of his cigarette. They are four people who came from Batusangkar, for fishing tonight. The four young men, not simultaneously, closed the meal with a long gulp of a glass of water, then left their helmet to the shop keeper. They immediately walked out and down the stairs next to the tavern. I thought, it turned out that the position of the tavern standing on the pillars stuck into the lake, as if it was designed specifically for anglers. Between the foundations, across the boards so that people can relax, even lay down.
The wind was still strong, the four young men were not affected. I think they are desperate anglers. I remember the words of Mak Adang, a local resident and also a reliable fisherman, whom I met about a year ago, at Pak Gaek's shop in Ombilin. At least, that's how Pak Gaek and Mak Adang think if someone is fishing in this weather. That night, Mak Adang did not fish.
"Aia gadang (big water)," said the reason.
Aia gadang is a term commonly used by anglers in Singkarak, to point out that lake water rises and waves. In weather like this, fish must be hard to come by. According to Mak Adang, if it is choppy like this, fish prefer to be in the middle and in the depth or look for a calm part of the water. This is common in the rainy season. But there are also anglers who are still desperate. They will usually use the "manciang banam" technique. This technique does not use buoyancy (kambang; small objects that can float and are tied to thread so that the thread and bait do not fully sink). Manciang banam technique only uses stones (ballast) and hook only. Usually starlets (in the form of green capsules and emitting glow) are installed at the end of the fishing rod. When the starlet moves, the angler will immediately pull the fishing rod. But in contrast to these four desperate anglers, they still use buoyancy, which means the fish will be hard to come by because they will be shocked and run away.
As I recall, in Singkarak almost every month was the rainy season. Or according to the findings of the Ministry of Environment (2018), only in June-July Singkarak has a dry season.1 But, because Singkarak is wide enough to not be exposed to rain at the same time, it might be possible for anglers to predict which 'possibility' will not be exposed to rain and wind tight. And fishing activities will continue to exist.
"Anglers prepare fishing equipment"
The four young men were still chatting while looking at the starlet that glowed in the dark of the night in its buoyancy. The green luminous object drifted tossed along with the waves. Usually, there are many anglers in this shop. But that night was fairly quiet. Maybe it's not 'hours'. Or the day is not right, or maybe other factors. According to Pak Angah, the owner of the tavern with the access of the stairs to the fishing location - where I sat - was quite quiet that night, even though it was Monday. Usually, there are still 5 to 10 anglers. But they did not come at once. Maybe a few more fishermen will come soon. Saturday and Sunday will be more crowded. Not only in this shop, even along the lake, whether in shops or on the edge of the road will be seen many motorized visitors to the lake parked, including the anglers.
"Slogan at one of the fishing shops in the Sumpu area."
That night Pak Angah could not imagine it, then connected his words in recent times, it was rare for people to come fishing. For him, the first factor might be about Weather, and perhaps also because of rumors about "begal" which was incessant in the national media beginning in 2018. Last month there was a shop in the Kacang area (still on the lake) which was visited by an unknown person. According to the developing story, the man was large and muscular, coming together with the black Avanza car parked in an attractive position. Said Mr. Angry, this was supplemented by information from several police officers who arrived three days ago.
Last night, four people who claimed to be police from Padangpanjang to the shop were around 12pm. The policeman said, "Barani jo Is it not night, yo?" (How dare you still be open until this time?) So he imitated the figure of the policeman, who was shocked by his courage.
The police actually got an assignment for patrols in Padangpanjang. But that night he took time to eat dinner at Singkarak, which is about 30 km from Padangpanjang. According to the police, 'The Begal' body is bigger than them. It is possible to come from the area of South Sumatra and work with local people as directions. Local people usually accompany the 'stranger'.
"If lai ado urc mano ambo not jo (if someone comes to lure me, I will open the shop)," he repeated the decision that night.
But to me he confessed, he often passed the summons from midnight, the giant after the police arrived. According to the police, they used it for clerics, but if they were pressed they would use it carefully. The police also carried out patrols just to bluff with their attributes, or to prevent, even though the police, even if he met immediately, also felt briefly.
I have participated in fishing with Kantuak at Singkarak several times. Usually there are also Datuak and Cudin. They start fishing from 10 pm until sunrise. Sometimes, it's boring. Every now and then I bring a fishing rod, but after a few times I try, it doesn't work. The times are indeed less talented. But I like being in the middle of fishing people, or decide to leave them to just see the situation at another fishing spot.
Most of the anglers I have met have not really come to find fish. They only want to briefly escape from their homes and routine activities, channel hobbies, and just go to chat. Fish for them is just a bonus. But there are also those who actually come to find fish, usually they will bring five fishing rods at once, but that is rarely enough.
"Fishing atmosphere at Bonjo at night."
I remember that time, I, Datuak, Kantuak, and Cudin went fishing on one side of the lake in the area of Tanjung Mutiara. Anglers often refer to the location as Bonjo. At that time there was only one father and his son who was around ten years old. They just finished fishing and did not get results that day. But this father and son did not go straight home, they first saw us unpacking and preparing fishing rods.
Among us, Datuak and Kantuak were the most proficient about fishing. They really like fishing. We also had several fishing trips at Nyarai. There is indeed more fish, camping, and the scenery is great to enjoy while relaxing. But actually we really aren't looking for fish. That night the reason we went fishing was because it hadn't been going fishing for a long time, even though Datuak and Kantuak did have good track records about fishing. They like to pit their fishing skills, then boast to each other when they get fish, what else if the fish are big.
"Juran is left behind by friction."
That night also came several other people, but they did not immediately issue fishing rods. They put down their bags, then looked at the actions of Kantuak and Datuak launching their attacks. One of them is Da Jon, who came from Batusangkar. He just came alone. I sat next to him, while enjoying coffee.
We laughed, watching the behavior of the Kantuak who only barely got fish. Kantuak's buoyancy swayed like a sign that the bait had been eaten by fish, but when it was withdrawn, the bait was lost to being eaten, but no fish was involved. That made him even more curious. There were also several other people who came to witness. The day was almost midnight, the father of his son, and several other people who were watching, soon returned home. Soon, friend Da Jon arrived. He sat for a moment, then ordered coffee, while Da Jon prepared his fishing rod.
"Cockroaches are used as bait fishing in Singkarak."
the four anglers seemed to have talked a lot more. They still don't get fish. It's almost midnight, no one has come to join them. The wind here is still strong, the lake still sounds choppy, along with it smells not fresh. I think I have to go home first of those who are still living.
Along the way home, I saw there were still many people sitting and fishing, and on the other side of the lake that I passed the wind was not too strong like in the previous location. The lake also looks calm. Could the wind be guerrilla, I thought. Tired, the wind carried the fresh smell, slapped us in turn, came here, there, here again, then there again.